Title: Destiny's New Path
Summary: A what if. What if it wasn't Revan on the Bridge when Malak fired on his Master's ship? Suddenly the Apprentice is betrayed by the Master, and Revan then infiltrates the ranks of the Jedi. The Dark Lords mission: turn Bastila to the Dark Side of the Force.
Disclaimer: George Lucas and Bioware own the basis of this FanFic. I am merely entertaining the idea that I am good at making Star Wars stories (stupid ideas).
Chapter 3: Ordo's Offer
Malak laughed manically as he watched the two missiles hit his former Master's flagship. Then he was shocked to see one of his own interdictor ships turn its direction toward his own ship.
"…Sir!" Admiral Saul Karath looked up to Malak. "…Incoming transmission!"
Malak nodded at a spider like droid. Admiral Karath pressed some buttons at his command board, and an image appeared to stand atop the droid… the image of a dark cloaked figure wearing a mask.
"No!" Malak said. "Impossible!" Under the mask, Revan's lips curled into an evil smile. Then, from behind the image, the blast door to the Bridge opened and several Jedi rushed forward, igniting their lightsabers. The image of Revan fade and the ship it had come from emptied its torpedo bay upon Malak's ship. Then the ship fled into Hyperspace.
Malak had not been expecting the Jedi to board his ship as well, and had not brought many guards with him from Korriban. Nor had he expected Revan to use a decoy on the Star Phoenix. But the thing he least expected was to be betrayed by his Master on the moment he himself had been meant to take the title of Dark Lord of the Sith.
The shields of the Leviathan took most of the damage dealt by the proton torpedoes. Malak had had Admiral Karath upgrade the shield generators with materials from the Star Forge, allowing the ship to repairs itself like the Star Maps, the Guardian and the Temple Computer could. However, even with the modified power, the shields gave way to three of the dozen torpedoes, and the bridge of Malak's ship was all but blown apart.
However, the few Jedi that survived the attack were not about to give up their mission. With what little strength and air they had, they pulled Malak from space and slammed the blast door to the shattered bridge shut.
Kayle led me to a Lower City apartment he had won in a game of Pazaak. As we entered, I spotted a blue Twi'lek girl drinking from a small cup. Upon seeing Kayle, she put the cup down and raced over to greet us. In the corner stood a young Wookiee with chocolate brown fur, who came over to greet us as well.
At the back of the living room, sitting on one of the chairs, was Carth Onasi. From where I stood, it looked like he was cleaning his blaster. Upon seeing Kayle and I enter, he holstered the blaster and walked over.
"Bastila…? Thank goodness you're alive!" He exclaimed. "It's about time we had some luck. Maybe between Kayle, you and me, we can finally figure out a way to get of this rock."
I was stunned. "What do you mean? Are you saying you have not yet found a way to get off Taris?"
"You know, I'm getting a little sick of that attitude of yours Bastila." Kayle said.
"My… my attitude…?" I was appalled. "That is no way to speak to your commanding officer, Kayle. In the future you would do well to show a little respect."
"Why don't you damn well try practicing what you preach first!" Kayle all but shouted. Without warning, the cup the Twi'lek had been drinking from suddenly exploded.
My jaw dropped.
"What…what did you do?" I demanded of him. Kayle looked behind him at the pieces of broken glass, then turned back to look at me.
"I don't know." He said. "But this isn't the first strange thing that happened."
"It isn't?" I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to see if he was lying. If he was, he was extremely good at it.
"No, when I first met you I saw…well, I guess it was a vision." He thought for a moment. "It was of Malak…he was on the bridge of a Sith ship, and he was battling a group of Jedi. And then the bridge was destroyed somehow…I can't remember how though…"
I frowned. It appeared that his memories were surfacing much earlier then I would have suspected.
"This is…strange. Such visions are often signs of Force Sensitivity." I said. "If you were only…" I stopped, searching for the right words to say it. "Well, if you weren't as old, I would suggest seeking out the Jedi. But I suppose…" I trailed off.
Kayle waited a moment before asking, "You suppose what?"
"I'm sorry; I'm not the person to talk to about this." I looked around the apartment. "I will, however, meditate on what this means." I looked to Carth. "Perhaps while I do that, you can try to find a way off of Taris." With that said, I walked turned to my left and went into one of the two bedrooms. As I closed the door I added, "I'm not to be interrupted, is that understood?"
Everyone nodded, and I finished closing the door. I went and sat on one of the beds, crossed my legs, and slowed my breathing, allowing myself to become one with the Force as it swirled around me.
I stepped out of the apartment, Carth behind me and to my right, Mission behind my and to my left.
"Okay, my bet is, the Sith will have been monitoring the Swoop Race." I said as we walked. "They'll have seen I rescued Bastila, which means we cannot go back to the Upper City without disguises, and at this time those disguises are sitting in the hands of Gadon Thek."
I stopped as a Twi'lek man suddenly sprinted up to us. I opened my mouth to ask what he wanted, but he spoke first.
"Greetings human..." He said. "You are the Racer named Kayle Starfire, are you not?"
"That's me, but-!" I was interrupted by the Twi'lek.
"Good, I was sent as a messenger by someone you may know. Canderous of Ordo…?"
I was somewhat shocked, though I didn't show it. I had met him in the Undercity. I'd even helped him kill some Rakghouls. But he didn't seem like the kind of guy to send a messenger just to say thanks. "Yes, I know him, why do-!" For the second time I was interrupted by the Twi'leks fast tongue.
"Good, he sent me to give you this Datapad." He handed me the Datapad, and I activated it.
"Greetings, Kayle Starfire. I am Canderous of the Clan Ordo, and I have sent this Datapad to you with an offer.
"I work for the local crime lord, Davik Kang. It was a reasonable job, until Davik started slacking in my payments. I've decided I can do better, so here's my offer.
"A Twi'lek Mechanic in the Upper City has built Davik an Astromech Droid that has enough slicing and hacking techniques to break into Coruscant's bank vaults.
"However, if you accept my offer, you'll only have to use it to break into the Sith Military Base. Somewhere in that base are the Sith Launch Codes a ship needs to leave Taris. You get those codes, and I can supply a ship. All you have to do is find them, and meet me in Javyar's Cantina when you do. I'll explain the rest then."
The recording shut down, and I looked up at the Twi'lek.
"Given his connections, I would recommend not to keep him waiting." He said.
Before I could say anything, he had sprinted away at a great speed. I turned to Carth and Mission.
"Do you think we should?" I asked. Carth just shrugged. Mission seemed to be considering what we'd been told and adding up the risks of doing as he suggested seriously at the moment from what I could tell, but before I could interject a word…
"I say we do it." Mission said. "He may be a Mandalorian, and he may work for Davik. But he also never, and I mean never, meets with some offworlder, even if they have won the Swoop Championships."
I nodded. "Okay, let's go."
"What…?" I came back out of the vision so fast I hadn't prepared myself for it, and had to take a moment while my vision stopped spinning. I was too shocked at what Kayle was planning to do that I didn't even think to question the reason I had been seeing through his eyes in my meditation.
Without a second thought I was up on my feet and sprinting for the door.
"Hroooor…" I looked up. The Wookie, Zalbaar, had been sitting in the shadows. Upon seeing me enter the room, he had stood and reached my side at a speed, I would not have thought possible for a Wookie.
Thankfully, unlike most people, I understood the Wookie language. He had been asking me where I was going.
"I have to get to the Cantina." I said. Zalbaar nodded.
"I know of a shortcut to get there." He said.
"That is alright." I said. "I can get there on my own."
I moved to open the door but Zalbaar lightly took hold of my arm. Even with his light grip, it was strong enough to keep hold of a Kinrath's tail.
"Kayle Starfire has requested I accompany you on any outings." Zalbaar said. "He insists that you cannot be left unguarded on Taris, due to the Sith occupation."
He said what! I couldn't believe that Kayle thought I was incapable of protecting myself from a couple of Sith Soldiers. However, I could see there was no arguing with Zalbaar; Wookie's were known for being quite stubborn.
"Very well, I said tightly, my lips pressed into a thin line; please take me to the Cantina."
Upon arriving at the Cantina, I saw that Kayle had not yet arrived. Good, that meant he had not yet accepted the Mandalorians' offer. I had found Canderous, spoke to him myself, and discovered that he had indeed sent Kayle the Datapad.
I was just about to go after Kayle and the others when Zalbaar placed a paw-like hand on my shoulder and shook his head.
"We must let them do this." He said. "It is likely Kayle Starfire has already led them into the Sith Base, and all we would do is alert the Sith of our friends actions."
Slightly annoyed, I relaxed my hands, although I didn't remember ever clenching them into fists.
"I suppose you're right." I said. "Very well, we will wait."
Chapter 3 is finished. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Chapter 4 has already been started and will be up ASAP.